Residents can meet in the new clubhouse at the renovated University Place apartments near the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

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A New York real estate company has invested heavily in trying to make University of Louisiana at Lafayette students feel more at home.

Realco Capital Partners, which owns student housing communities in five southern university markets, is nearing the end of its two-year effort to rejuvenate University Place apartments, which are tucked behind a corner of the UL campus at 200 Oakcrest Drive.

Rob Tulloch, managing director of operations and development for Realco, said in a telephone interview from Realco's Madison Avenue office that the company began its renovations in summer 2011 ...